


The Search for Eternal Bonds

by Rose Argent (roseargent)



Category: Lux-Pain
Genre: Case Fic, M/M, Post-Canon, Zombies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-20
Updated: 2010-12-20
Packaged: 2017-10-13 21:26:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/141885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roseargent/pseuds/Rose%20Argent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Atsuki and Liu Yee are on their own against a town full of Silent infectees.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Search for Eternal Bonds

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Eldritch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eldritch/gifts).



> This fic was really quite challenging, for two main reasons. 1. I do not read Japanese at all, so I was stuck with only the information in the official (horrible) translation of the game itself (oh, how I wish for translations of the web novels). 2. Man, these characters did not want to cooperate.
> 
> But it was also a lot of fun and a very exciting assignment to get, because it's my favourite pairing from a terribly unknown game. I didn't get much actual pairing stuff in (see point 2. above), but hopefully their interactions work for you.
> 
> Gettting them alone was another toughie, because Fort seems to keep in such constant contact with agents on missions. But a buried little reference to an incident in London that caused people infected to behave like vampires gave me the idea for a bit of a classic "zombie plague in an isolated town" kind of deal. I tried to pull ideas directly from the canon as much as I could--even from brief throwaway comments and dialogue options--so I hope I didn't push the story too far outside of the bounds of canon-faithfulness.
> 
> I took my ideas for Liu Yee's Lux-Pain markings from the opening movie, which shows a silhouette of a dragon before flashing to him, just like it shows a lion for Atsuki and the winged design of Tristan for Natsuki. I hope it doesn't conflict with info from the web novels and such!
> 
> I talk too much. Basically, I really had fun writing this and I hope you like it!

The Picus agent wasn't at the designated meeting place, and Atsuki's heart sank a little. Things had gone to hell faster than he'd ever seen--he'd never even _heard_ about an incident going this bad this quickly--and the small backup team that had been sent with them had already dwindled to only a handful the last time he'd been able to get in touch with anyone. He continued up the street, trying to hope that either he or the Picus agent had just gotten a bit mixed up about the meeting spot--street names weren't well-marked in this tiny town, and in the first day of the mission Atsuki had gotten lost for real almost as often as he'd gotten "lost" on purpose so that he could wander into areas strangers weren't necessarily supposed to be.

Two blocks up the street Atsuki started hearing noise and he sped his pace to a jog, then a flat-out sprint as the growling and smacking noises turned into howling and screaming and tearing. He skidded to a stop just a hair too slowly, well within arm's reach of the small mob of infectees that had gotten a hold of the Picus agent, and swore. He was obviously too late--the screaming had stopped.

Most of the infectees were intent on what was left of their prey, but a couple that were on the outside of the crowd took notice of him. He crushed the mind of the one closest to him, but another was able to grab him before he could turn his attention to it. Blunt teeth sank into his upper arm, and Atsuki bit back a yelp; noise would only draw the attention of even more of the infectees. So would the smell of the blood oozing down his arm now. He needed to get out of here fast. He had to pound his fist into the infectees's ear four times before it finally registered the pain and slackened its jaws enough for Atsuki to pull his arm free without losing a huge chunk of flesh. Jumping back before the infectee could make another grab for him--that they were slow and stupid with their minds this badly degraded was probably the only reason Atsuki was still alive--Atsuki took off at full speed back in the direction he'd come.

Atsuki had a moment's warning as he felt that familiar, cold _shinen_ wash over him, and then he was all but running directly into Liu Yee. His partner didn't miss a beat, just grabbed him by his unbitten arm and hauled him off in a different direction, down what Atsuki was fairly sure was a blind alley. And indeed it was, but as they came to the wall at the end Liu Yee went down on one knee, hands cupped in front of him, and Atsuki quickly grasped the plan. He planted one foot in Liu Yee's offered hands and let the other man boost him up to the top of the wall, Liu Yee following a second later in a smooth, graceful movement that Atsuki had no hope of replicating even if he did have two sound arms at the moment.

Once they were perched on top of the wall, Atsuki took a moment to catch his breath. When he felt steady enough to move on he gave Liu Yee a brief nod, and his partner gestured to the roof of one of the houses bracketing the alley. From their spot on the wall it was quick work to get up there, and then it was a short and furtive journey over the rooftops to the house Atsuki had been using as his temporary residence while he was in town "researching the local fauna." They went in a window on the upper floor, and Atsuki saw as they passed the stairs that they'd been blocked off, preventing easy access from the ground floor. "Your work?"

Liu Yee glanced at the stairs and nodded. "They don't look up much or climb well, from what I've seen. And I doubt they'll make the effort to clear the stairs, if they even have enough mental capacity left to think of it."

Atsuki felt like he should be grateful for the chance to sit down for a bit, but he was too anxious about the situation outside to really relax. "Have you been able to contact Fort at all?" He opened his cell phone again, hoping for a signal this time, but just like before it was no good.

"No. Lost the signal around the same time the power went out." Liu Yee was rifling through a small pile of supplies he'd apparently gathered while Atsuki was trying to touch base with Picus. A first aid kit was among the spoils, and he pulled that out. "Let's get that arm cleaned up."

Stripping out of his shirt was a little more difficult than Atsuki had expected--his arm had stiffened up even in the short time he'd been favouring it. At least the blood hadn't dried enough for the fabric to be sticking to the wound too badly. The sting of disinfectant barely registered, and Atsuki watched Liu Yee cleaned the blood away. The extent of the injury became more visible; it was already turning purple with bruising all around the bite, and the actual teeth marks were deep and ragged. The damned infectee had _gnawed_ on him! Atsuki hissed a little as Liu Yee wrapped his arm in bandages, but shook his head when Liu Yee paused and asked, "Too tight?"

"No. Just ticked off. I've never seen anything like these infectees. They were normal people two days ago, now they're like..." Atsuki trailed off, feeling a little self-conscious suddenly about the word he wanted to use to describe these infectees. But if the London "vampire" incident was treated seriously, well, then it was probably okay to admit that this Silent infection seemed to be creating zombies. "They're alive, but their behaviour is bang-on for zombies."

Liu Yee smirked as he finished bandaging Atsuki's wound, but Atsuki had come to accept that a smirk didn't necessarily mean Liu Yee disagreed with something--just that he found it funny. Atsuki might have found it funny, too, if he wasn't the one who'd gotten chewed on. Even with the antiseptic Liu Yee used there was a very good chance the bite was going to get infected, considering the bacteria load in the average human mouth... and oral hygiene didn't seem to be too high on the list of priorities for these zombies.

After putting the first aid kit away, Liu Yee tossed Atsuki a clean shirt. "We should get some rest."

Atsuki couldn't quite keep the surprise off his face, at that. "We need to get back out there. If we don't find the Original, this will just keep spreading like crazy. There's got to be a thousand infectees by now and it's only been a couple days. It should have taken weeks to get this bad."

"I don't like it either, but in the hour and a half before I caught up with you I didn't see a single uninfected civilian. If there's no one left out there to protect, there's no reason to just run off when we're both worn out. We'll just get ourselves killed." Liu Yee wasn't looking at Atsuki, but still Atsuki could tell that his partner really was as unhappy--or almost as unhappy--with the situation as he was. It still just didn't sit right, taking a nap when every hour they wasted meant that infectees could be leaving this town and spreading the Silent elsewhere.

He was about to protest again when Liu Yee turned to face him, his expression too complicated for Atsuki to fully read without using Sigma, but he was clearly not willing to bend on this topic. "I'm not saying we pull out. Our last orders were to hang on until the detachment force got here and try to control the situation as well as we could. But that doesn't mean you can run off like an idiot. We rest, and if we're still on our own after that we come up with a strategy, _then_ we move out."

Still not entirely happy with that answer, Atsuki knew he wasn't going to budge Liu Yee on this. "Fine. I'll take first watch while you get some rest."

This time Atsuki had no trouble reading Liu Yee's expression, because it was so familiar: a mix of amusement and annoyance. "Nice try. You'll just fling yourself into danger at the first hint of an opportunity. We'll both rest; I'm a light sleeper and the floor creaks in this house. _You_ will take the side of the bed closest to the wall."

Surrender was the only option left, really, so Atsuki toed off his shoes and lay down on the bed. He had no intention of sleeping on his injured arm just for the sake of sleeping with his back turned to Liu Yee, though, so he stayed facing the room as he curled into as comfortable a position as he could without taking up the entire bed. Liu Yee seemed to be having second thoughts for a moment, but then he, too, took off his shoes and settled on the bed. He turned his back to Atsuki and faced the door, then apparently dropped off to sleep instantly. Nice trick.

It took Atsuki a little longer to drop off to sleep, despite his exhaustion, because he found himself staring at Liu Yee's sleeping form. The only other time he'd actually been this close to Liu Yee was when he'd come to Atsuki's apartment after the fight with Kiryu and Edward, and that situation hadn't exactly given Atsuki time to think about much of anything except getting Liu Yee medical attention. Now, despite the situation they were in, Atsuki couldn't quite help but admire the muscles in Liu Yee's back, and wonder what it would be like to touch someone who so deliberately made himself seem untouchable. Not that Atsuki was one to talk, there.

That last thought must have followed Atsuki into sleep, because the next thing he knew he was having the dreams again. His sister. Silent. Gawain. His subconscious reminding him, as it had in Kisaragi, that he was a weapon, now, not the boy he'd been. Reminding him why he'd given up light and become a cold thing of deceit and rage.

Atsuki woke in a panic, a cool hand clamped over his mouth and an arm that felt like steel pinning him to the bed. He'd have lashed out, if he could, but he was very effectively held down. Which turned out to be for the best as it finally penetrated his mind that the person on top of him was Liu Yee. The pressure eased off soon after he realised--Liu Yee must have seen the recognition in his eyes. "You were making too much noise, would have attracted attention we don't need," was the only explanation Liu Yee gave, but it was enough.

"Sorry." Atsuki rubbed his face, sitting up a little as Liu Yee backed off.

Atsuki had no intention of explaining what the dream had been about, no desire to talk about it, until Liu Yee's scowl changed subtly and he looked away, shrugging stiffly. "I'm supposed to handle the violence. You shouldn't have had to see that."

Still a bit disoriented from interrupted sleep, it took Atsuki a moment to process that. Liu Yee thought the dream was about the death of that Picus agent? Feeling terrible even as he did it, Atsuki laughed. It wasn't a good sound to his own ears--not like the way he laughed when he was undercover, this was harsh and almost hysterical in tone. The look on Liu Yee's face finally stopped Atsuki's helpless laughter, and he looked away from his partner. "I've seen worse than that before, don't take me for some kind of delicate creature. The dream was just old stuff."

Liu Yee made an indecipherable noise and grabbed Atsuki's chin, turning his face back so their eyes met. "I have never imagined you to be _fragile_. But even Edward saw it--you're too kind for Fort, in a lot of ways." Obviously angry--not without cause, Atsuki knew, because he'd laughed at what was no doubt an attempt at kindness--Liu Yee was leaving finger-shaped bruises on Atsuki's face, but Atsuki couldn't muster the desire to pry his hands off. A strained silence followed, then Liu Yee let go and broke eye contact, muttering, "It's a good thing, that's all."

Sighing, Atsuki let his head drop forward to rest on Liu Yee's shoulder, half-expecting to be shoved off immediately. He did know, he really did, that Liu Yee was always trying to protect him not only physically, but emotionally and mentally. But he wasn't the kind, gentle person that everyone--even people who should know better--seemed to think he was. Just because he had mercy, because he preferred to save infected minds rather than destroy them, it didn't make him less of a demon. It was only that he directed his fury against Silent alone, and not the people cursed by it.

Around the time that Atsuki was starting to become aware of the way Liu Yee smelled--faintly spicy, a little metallic, under the muskier scents of sweat and dirt from clambering around on rooftops--Liu Yee finally pushed him off gently. More gently than Atsuki probably deserved. But the tension had broken, and Atsuki managed something resembling a smile. "Your hair's all messed up. It looks better like this, not slicked back."

Snorting, Liu Yee tried to smooth his hair back, then flicked his fingers at Atsuki's own bangs. "Narcissist. You just think everyone would look better with hair like yours, hanging in your face all the time. Some of us prefer to see where we're going."

Atsuki tried to think of a retort, but snappy banter wasn't his strong suit. And now that he was awake enough to notice, his contact lens was starting to drive him _insane_. He rubbed at his eye, knowing it wouldn't help, and muttered, "I hate sleeping with this thing in."

"Take it out. No one here with enough mind left to notice." And just like that, they were back to business. Not a bad thing, Atsuki's conscience reminded him.

Liu Yee got up off the bed and went over to the window, twitching the curtain aside to look out. "Not much movement. Might be a good time to see if we can't find the Original."

They'd had no luck on that note for the last two days, but they'd checked a lot of the town in that time and there weren't many places to look. They'd find the Original quickly enough now, if he or she was still in town at all. That the Original might already have moved on was a chilling thought--this strain of Silent in a larger, less isolated place would be a disaster beyond even Shanghai. But while the rough terrain surrounding the town might be keeping the detachment force from arriving quickly, hopefully it was also slowing down any infectees trying to leave.

Atsuki took a moment to follow Liu Yee's suggestion and remove the black contact from his right eye, then nodded. They got their shoes back on and left out the same window they'd come in.

His arm had stiffened up even further, and there was a faint warmth when he touched the bandages over the injury--infected, for sure, though it would be hours yet before it got serious--but he'd hardly be their best asset if it came to a physical fight, anyway. He managed well enough for the rooftop portion of their journey, and climbing back down was easier than coming up had been.

Once they were back at street level, they stuck to the shadows even when there didn't seem to be anyone around. Passing the shopping district, Atsuki saw where the bulk of the Silent-infected citizens had gotten to--having run out of animals and uninfected people to attack, they were turning on each other in one huge, horrific riot.

They made their way to the corner of town they hadn't had a chance to check yet--not much had shown up there on Natsuki's last Psycho Viewing, but that wasn't always a guarantee. Given the zombie-like aspects of the infectees, Atsuki already suspected it was going to be another situation like Lil: death _shinen_. Natsuki sometimes had trouble picking that up.

A few smaller knots of Silent-infected people intercepted them along the way, but between Liu Yee and himself they dispatched them pretty quickly. Atsuki wasn't used to wielding Gawain like a sledgehammer rather than a scalpel, but he'd done it before and he was perfectly willing to do it now. There was nothing left of these minds to salvage; crushing them was the only option left, and he'd have done the same even if time wasn't a factor. He didn't crush as many minds as Liu Yee did, but considering how rarely he did this kind of work at all Atsuki felt like he was accounting for a fair number.

After a few encounters it became almost routine--smash the nearest mind, move on to the next, keep an eye on your partner's back. Liu Yee was breathing hard, just a bit, but didn't seem to be in any serious distress. Atsuki felt about the same. Neither of them was bothering to deactivate Sigma between fights, now, and Atsuki took the rare chance to admire Lancelot's markings on Liu Yee's face and neck. Harder to hide by far than the marks Gawain left on Atsuki's hand and arm, Lancelot's markings had a kind of beauty that fascinated Atsuki on those rare opportunities when he got to see them; they were abstract, yes, but more fluid than Gawain's or Tristan's patterns. Like the dragons on Liu Yee's clothing Lancelot's mark was sinuous, curving and doubling back into a pattern that truly did seem almost alive.

Really, though he didn't have Chief Ray's angelic beauty, Liu Yee was one of the most attractive men Atsuki had ever met.

"Any luck?" Liu Yee was keeping a watch for more infectees while Atsuki checked the residual _shinen_ for any signs of where the Original might be.

"Maybe. Hard to say--a lot of the infectees read similarly, with this Silent, but I'm getting some old traces of strong, nasty _shinen_ up that way," Atsuki gestured vaguely uphill, not sure what direction they'd need to go once they got there. His range was small, too small for this kind of street-to-street search to work in most circumstances. But this town was just small enough and they'd narrowed things down just enough that Atsuki felt like they had a good shot at being on the right track.

Liu Yee headed uphill without any sign of hesitation, even though he had to know that this kind of search was hardly Atsuki's specialty. "You should lay off the fighting from here on. I can't read the residual _shinen_ as clearly as you can, save your energy for that." And if, as Atsuki suspected, it _was_ a situation like Lil's, the Silent would be his to take out, too, because there would be no mind left for Liu Yee to crush--only the lingering remains of a soul.

The trail of residual _shinen_ led them to a dilapidated house on the edge of town, and from half a block away Atsuki knew they'd found the right place. He had to stop for a moment and redouble his shields, the _shinen_ was so strong, so twisted. It was rare to find _shinen_ that could hurt him just by existing, but this was clearly one. Even Liu Yee seemed to be feeling it.

"It smells of death. Too strongly. There's a corpse in there." A conflicted look cross Liu Yee's features, but Atsuki didn't give him time for second thoughts. He pushed on, approaching the house and forcing his feet to keep moving even through the wall of death-stench that hit him as soon as the door was open.

They found it in the back room, the rotting remains of a wizened old man. Death _shinen_ clustered around the body, not as thickly as with a fresh corpse, but enough to daunt most telepaths.

Liu Yee grabbed Atsuki's arm, at that point, and tried to hold him back. "No. A strong Silent is bad enough, but to fight it _after_ fighting your way through this much death _shinen_ is just insane."

Atsuki looked at Liu Yee and their gazes warred for dominance for a moment, but this time it was Atsuki who was unwilling to bend. Liu Yee made a disgusted noise and moved over to the door leading back into the rest of the house. Legs braced in a combative stance, Liu Yee made it clear he intended to hold the room against all comers while Atsuki took care of the Silent. His back to Atsuki, Liu Yee snapped out, "I will never forgive you if you don't come out of this whole. You are not replaceable."

Giving in to temptation just this once, Atsuki leaned against Liu Yee's unyielding back for a moment and touched his lips to the nape of his partner's neck, then whirled back to face the Silent-riddled corpse before he could see Liu Yee's reaction.

Wanting to take a deep breath to steady himself but knowing how very, very little it would help to breathe in more of the smell of rotting flesh, Atsuki braced himself and kissed Gawain, then dove into the dark.

The death _shinen_ were bad. Not as personally painful as Takano Reiji's had been, and not as plentiful, but there was a slimy foulness on top of the normal terror of death. Not only did Atsuki stand straddling the abyss, but he felt like he was coated in filth from the moment he touched the old man's soul. And then he understood why--the last _shinen_ , the key to the Silent infection, was one of the nastiest Atsuki had ever encountered.

Life is emptiness  
Loss  
Alone  
They always leave me  
They're all together in death  
Left behind  
Keep you with me  
All of you with me  
Be one with me  
Even in death  
Inside of me  
Death is reunion  
Death is communion  
The flesh and blood  
Bond eternal

Atsuki was driven to his knees, panting hard like he'd been running, aware of nothing but the Silent revealed at last to his mind's eye. It was strong. As strong as Graham Miller's, and more active. It flung attacks at him as quickly as he could disable them, then faster still, and for a painful, eternal moment he was more afraid than he'd ever been in his entire life as a weapon. He'd used so much energy already, then to fight this thing now... but he could not die. Would not die. _Humanity's last hope_ , Chief Ray said in his memory, and _there is no demon worse than me_ , his own hidden self insisted.

 _You are not replaceable_ , said Liu Yee.

He screamed with the Silent as it fell at last, and then everything was black.

"... tsuki. Atsuki!" Atsuki couldn't place the voice, at first, it was so unusual to hear it using his first name. Then his body was shaken roughly and a hand squeezed his injured arm much too hard, and the shock of the pain brought clarity. Liu Yee. Liu Yee was trying to wake him up. And doing a very good job of it, at that.

Atsuki groaned and tried to shake off Liu Yee's hands. "I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm _tired_."

The painful jostling and squeezing stopped, and Atsuki got one eye open to squint up at Liu Yee balefully. His partner was sitting back on his heels now, a smirk quickly falling into place over whatever expression had briefly been there in that instant Atsuki opened his eyes. Eye. Two still seemed like too much effort. "Oh, _now_ the idiot wants to sleep. Too bad, I'm not dealing with this smell any longer than I have to."

Now that Liu Yee reminded him of it, the smell hit Atsuki all over again. Two-day-old corpse, in this summer heat. Ugh. Now he was _really_ awake. He looked at it again, now just an empty body, and shuddered. "He outlived everyone he loved. I don't know if the Silent caused it, or if it started before and drew the Silent to him, but he turned cannibal. Thought eating people would keep them with him forever in some form." Every once and a while, with a case like this, Atsuki wondered if Liu Yee's way wasn't better--not having to know the taste of those poisonous thoughts, just snuffing them out without mercy.

After a few more minutes, Atsuki managed to get to his feet, somehow. Admittedly, it took a lot of help from Liu Yee. But before he was ready to face the idea of walking anywhere, there was a crashing noise from the front of the house.

Liu Yee leaned Atsuki up against a wall like so much furniture, his face a cold mask now. "Must have been something left nearby to hear you screaming. Stay put." He was gone, vanished through the door before Atsuki could say anything. The sounds of bodies falling came at regular intervals, and then stopped suddenly, replaced by grunting and the softer, less final sorts of thuds that came with a fistfight.

Too many zombies for Liu Yee alone. Damn. Atsuki shoved off the wall, almost toppling face first onto the floor in the first instant, then finding the dregs of a second (or maybe a third, or a fourth) wind somewhere. He grabbed the nearest, heaviest object--a chair--and staggered out into the front room.

Liu Yee seemed to have things reasonably well in hand--at least, he didn't seem to be bleeding, or particularly stressed--but there were still three zombies standing and one of them was behind him. Atsuki smashed his chair over that infectee's head, hitting less with strength of arm--because he had none left--and more with his own falling weight. He landed on top of the unconscious infectee around the same time Liu Yee finished off the last of the other two, and was rewarded with a look of complete surprise and bemusement on Liu Yee's face when he turned and saw what had happened.

The moment passed, and Liu Yee's smirk returned. "The Zero-Time telepath, renowned and feared throughout Fort, triumphs by _hitting a Silent-infectee with a chair_. Very nice." Atsuki made a rude noise at Liu Yee as he helped him up.

But it wasn't just Atsuki leaning on Liu Yee as they made their very, very slow way back to the relative safety of Atsuki's house--more like they were propping each other up. Liu Yee had used Lancelot a lot tonight--he had to have added another fifty at least to his lifetime total of Silent defeated, in the space of a couple hours.

There was a minute there, when they reached the house, when Atsuki wasn't sure either of them could make the climb up the drainpipe to the second floor. But, though he had no memory of how it had happened, Atsuki next woke to find that they were both collapsed on the bed in his room. This time there had been no careful choosing of spots, apparently, as Liu Yee was lying sideways across Atsuki's legs and his own hand was squarely on Liu Yee's face. Gawain had left an imprint on his partner's cheek.

Not finding any easy way to disentangle himself without dumping Liu Yee off the bed entirely, Atsuki settled for trying to inch his way out from under Liu Yee's lanky frame. It didn't work very well, and Liu Yee woke with a start. Hair well and truly mussed, now, Liu Yee looked the absolute picture of bewilderment as he took in the tangle they'd gotten themselves into, and once again Atsuki burst out laughing. This time, he kind of liked the sound.

They'd only just barely gotten themselves sorted out when the sound of footsteps on the blocked stairs made them both stiffen up warily. But a voice called out, "Atsuki Saijo? Liu Yee? We're with the Fort detachment force. If you can hear me, please respond!"

"We're here!" Atsuki called out, relief flooding him. He glanced at Liu Yee, seeing a similar relief on the other man's face. "I hope Natsuki didn' drive herself to collapse again, trying to pinpoint our location through all the psychic noise of those zombies." Liu Yee only shrugged, though even he had been a little less critical of their youngest co-worker after she worked so hard in Kisaragi.

The detachment forces soldier called out again, "We're going to clear the stairs, stay where you are!"

Without really thinking about it, Atsuki found himself leaning against Liu Yee again. The rest he'd gotten since the battle had helped, but Atsuki still felt wrung out. Liu Yee seemed distracted, listening to the progress of the detachment forces outside and on the stairs, but after a moment he said neutrally, "Don't think I've forgotten what you did back there, before the fight."

Atsuki had done _his_ best to forget about that little moment of weakness, and he felt his cheeks heat with--for the first time in a very long time--an entirely genuine blush. He started to pull away, but Liu Yee's arm snaked around his waist and held him pinned where he was. "Not escaping that easy." Atsuki braced himself for a confrontation, but Liu Yee said nothing further, instead just leaning into Atsuki a little, himself. Atsuki closed his eyes and let himself breathe again, too tired to think about the inevitable pitfalls of a changing relationship. They'd both survived, and Liu Yee didn't seem inclined to kill him over that kiss. At all. Quite the opposite.

Good enough for now, Atsuki thought fuzzily before he dropped back off into sleep.

~fin~


End file.
